Published 4:00 am, Monday, July 29, 1996

1996-07-29 04:00:00 PDT Austin, Texas -- For now, Jeff Hostetler slides into the background. He might qualify as the third-most important quarterback in a Raiders uniform, at least until he trots onto the field September 1 in Baltimore.

The Raiders know all about Hostetler -- rugged, savvy, capable of ruining their season with one ill-timed injury. That's his enduring legacy from 1995, when Hostetler went down and the Raiders crumbled without him.

So here in the sweltering heat of late July, the focus shifts to backups Billy Joe Hobert and David Klingler. Hobert started Saturday night's 35-34 exhibition loss to Dallas, before leaving with a sprained ankle.

Hobert should return to practice sometime this week, coach Mike White said yesterday. The injury still highlights Oakland's need to find viable alternatives to Hostetler.

"I've been the starter (in Cincinnati) when we lost two quarterbacks in one game," Klingler said. "At the bare minimum, you're two snaps away from playing."

The Raiders are counting on quarterbacks coach Larry Kennan to develop Hobert and resuscitate Klingler's career. Few teams wanted Klingler, but the Raiders plucked him from free agency and nudged aside Vince Evans.

This franchise has not exactly churned out young quarterbacks in recent years. Todd Marinovich vanished, quickly and forgetably. Hobert went 44 games in the NFL before taking his first regular-season snap.

And now comes Klingler, fresh from four discouraging years with the Bengals. He had his moments against the Cowboys, passing for 129 yards and two touchdowns.

He also overthrew several receivers and occasionally appeared awkward.

"David just needs to play on a good team," Kennan said. "He said he had the best protection of his life (Saturday night). It's a fresh start. He has a long way to go, but he did some nice things.

"When he's in a rhythm, he's very good. When he's not, he throws the ball too hard."

Klingler is trying to regain his old throwing motion, which he lost after elbow surgery in January 1995. He's also playing with strained ligaments in his right thumb, suffered last week in practice.

"It's coming," Klingler said. "This is a slow process."

The Raiders need to learn if Klingler can play at this level. On one side, he was the sixth player drafted in 1992; then again, he made little impact in Cincinnati (4-20 record as a starter).

Hostetler will make his exhibition debut Friday night against Arizona. But the Raiders clearly plan to give Hobert and Klingler plenty of snaps between now and the regular-season opener.

"I really feel good about the position," Kennan said. "I think we have better depth at quarterback than most teams."

PROBLEM AREAS

In familiar news, the Raiders collected 11 penalties for 103 yards. The defense allowed 323 yards passing, including two long touchdown passes in the closing minutes.

On the game-winning play, several tacklers meekly missed Dallas wide receiver Billy Davis. This included starting strong safety Lorenzo Lynch, who returned to the field for the play.

"We've had more tackling drills this year in practice than ever before," White said. "It's obvious we have to have more of them."

MISCELLANY

The Raiders and Cowboys will practice together once today, twice tomorrow and twice Wednesday. . . . Lincoln Kennedy, whose biceps injury is not as serious as previously suspected, may rejoin practice later this week. . . . Pat Harlow played Saturday night with a cast on his right hand, to protect a hairline fracture. White said Harlow will continue playing with the cast for 4-5 weeks. . . . Rickey Dudley caught one pass in his NFL debut. Dudley left 38 tickets for family and friends; he grew up in Henderson, Texas, about 120 miles southeast of Dallas.